Inside UnitedHealth’s strategy to pressure physicians: $10,000 bonuses and a doctor leaderboard Tara Bannow Bob Herman Casey Ross Lizzy Lawrence By Tara Bannow , Bob Herman , Casey Ross , and Lizzy Lawrence

https://www.statnews.com/2024/10/16/united-health-optum-care-medicare-advantage-strategy-dashboard-emails-documents/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--w8FAPOHnf3Y8Cu1OcwE2PEM2ju8shSD_kxoEPgiHm360vQZL2EZ-ex60MfimW8DqccPzl9tqypXOAGQNH6U23bSMOUg&_hsmi=335470246&utm_content=335470246&utm_source=hs_email UnitedHealth Group is paying many of its own physician practices significantly more than it pays other doctor groups in the same markets for similar services, STAT reporters reveal in Part 5 of the series Health Care’s Colossus. For some types of care, the company’s insurance subsidiary doles out twice the average market price at its own practices. “It’s really a game the way they switch money from their right pocket to their left,” one doctor said. As a reminder, UnitedHealth is the country’s largest health insurer and fourth-largest company of any type by revenue. The company argues in marketing materials that its control of medical providers delivers greater efficiency, better care coordination, and lower costs. But STAT’s findings expose the effects of a deepening conflict of interest: As both a dominant insurance company and a health care provider, UnitedHealth can capture higher profits by paying itself inflated prices for basic checkups, surgeries, and procedures. STAT uncovered the payments in a first-of-its-kind analysis with health analytics company Tribunus Health that examined UnitedHealth’s own data as reported to the federal government. Read more in Part 5. And I urge you to check out the first few parts if you haven’t already. They document how UnitedHealth turned a questionable artery-screening program into a gold mine; it promised a hands-off approach when buying one Connecticut medical group, then upended everything its doctors had built; and its managers use tactics like bonuses and leaderboard rankings to pressure doctors. This series highlights how UnitedHealth Group wields its unrivaled physician empire to boost its profits and expand its influence. Reporters Casey Ross, Lizzy Lawrence, Bob Herman, and Tara Bannow spent months interviewing sources and reviewing documents to deliver this unrivaled look into the biggest and most consequential U.S. health care company. https://www.statnews.com/unitedhealth-group-investigation-health-care-colossus-series/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9ZYtlAdKl48OAo8z2bTlM57PAatp3-q0U8Tlm_MYIOL26s3FzblrV8v8jAzUL1to_ywYmu8AfZlnOAB-kZL-3cbhyqCQ&_hsmi=335470246&utm_content=335470246&utm_source=hs_email